Ideas and Inspiration
For my logo I decided to create an image of an earth with a V in it (for vegan, a little bit lit like the S on Superman’s suit) with a cow and a stick figure standing on top. This idea directly relates to my course topic because it showcases multiple aspects of a plant-based lifestyle within a relatively simple design.
Design Process
I was looking to create something cute and simple that effectively communicated my course topic. I was also looking for something approachable and welcoming– I hoped that a bright design with cute images of a cow and a person standing next to each other would convey this sense of approachability and inclusivity that I was going for. The word “vegan” can be kind of off-putting and even misleading (Angela from the Office, anyone?) for some, so I hoped a cute and welcoming logo would draw more people in. As far as research goes, I primarily searched famous, successful logos and relied on the readings found on the course schedule.
The cow and stick figure symbolize the kind to animals aspect of a plant based lifestyle, while the earth stands for associated environmental benefits. The V (I would hope) is obvious– it stands for veganism.
Design influences from multiple logos influenced my process. I liked the cheeky, colorful look of Google’s logo, while the circular form of many logos (Pepsi, Target, or Beats for example) appealed to me as well.
To keep the design simple, I decided to use negative space (white) for the V in the center of the logo and for the clouds on the earth. I also attempted to use balance, by putting items with higher visual weight closer to the fulcrum of the image, unless they were balanced by an image with similar visual weight. For example, I placed the cow and person standing on the Earth slightly to the left so that they would help balance out the leaf in the bottom right corner of the image.
Technical Details
I created all the elements in the project on my own, without taking any existing designs from the web to supplement the logo. This meant it took a little bit more time to create some of the elements, but the cow in particular. To create the elements, I primarily used the line segment tool and the ellipse tool. I also relied on the text tool and the pen curvature tool, which I used to create the leaf. Each of the clouds required me to use the ellipse tool, pressing shift and alt and dragging the circle shape over until a cloud was formed.
I struggled with figuring out how to make the images that I created with the pen tool curved. I ended up using the curvature tool instead, and this solved that problem. In addition, I wasn’t sure at first how to ensure that the image I had created was scalable. What I ended up doing was grouping all the elements of my image and checking to see if my image looked the same whether I enlarged it or made it smaller.
Sources and Materials
Font: Myriad Pro
Halle's Multimedia Blog 
Hi! I really like your topic and think you did a really nice job adding color and a word element. I honestly feel like this could be used for a brand, you did a really nice job! If I was to give you anything to improve upon I think you could make it a little clearer that there is a cow on top of the earth next to the stick figure. Consider adding white dots to it, or maybe making it on all fours because cows don’t stand on two legs. I like how you put the V inside the earth for vegan eating and how you could compare that to the superman logo. The only other thing is that the leaf is a little distracting from your overall project, maybe consider making it a lighter color? Overall I think you did really great work and it is super clear you know what you’re doing with illustrator!
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Hi Halle, I like the fact that you incorporated technical details learned from our course readings into your logo project. The use of negative space for the “V” in the center of your logo draws attention to the V in a concise manner. However, the incorporation of negative space on both the center letter “V” and the clouds overlapping and surrounding the “V” can distract the viewer from the focus. In other words, I would suggest using negative space simply for the center letter “V” and the background to keep the logo balanced. In addition, I feel that too many details take away from the concept of a logo, I would suggest trying to only keep around three key vector shapes in your logo to keep the design simple yet concise.
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Hi Halle, I like the fact that you incorporated technical details learned from our course readings into your logo project. The use of negative space for the “V” in the center of your logo draws attention to the V in a concise manner. However, the incorporation of negative space on both the center letter “V” and the clouds overlapping and surrounding the “V” can distract the viewer from the focus. In other words, I would suggest using negative space simply for the center letter “V” and the background to keep the logo balanced. You could keep the clouds and make them a different color from the center letter as to not distract the viewers eye.
In addition, I feel that too many details take away from the concept of a logo, I would suggest trying to only keep around three key vector shapes in your logo to keep the design simple yet concise.
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I love your design so much and I really think that the welcoming vibe that you wanted to give off is very apparent and clear. I believe the colors you chose work very well together and represent growth and veganism. My favorite part about your project is that you created everything by hand without any outside sources, that is truly impressing to me. To critique your logo design I would only have two suggestions for you. My first suggestion is that you go with your outline that you drew and add more animals to the top of the Earth to give more friendly animal vibes. Lastly, my second suggestion would be too to match up the blue circle and the green pieces of land so you do not have any gaps. Other than that your logo design is very powerful, appealing, and makes a clear statement.
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